Obituary: Eleanor Margaret (Warren) Connor

Eleanor Margaret (Warren) Connor, “Granny on Ranney,” of Craig, died in Steamboat Springs on Nov. 24, 2017. She was 96.

Eleanor was born on June 4, 1921, in Enterprise, Oregon, to Samuel Ora Warren and Anna Katherine Warren (Beck).

Eleanor’s mother died when she was just 5 years old. She was raised in Cottage Grove, Oregon, by “Grandma” Smith, an Amish widow.

Eleanor married Thomas “Howard” Connor Sr. in Walker, Oregon, on Oct. 6, 1941, and worked for his family in their store that provided goods, home-cooked meals and lodging to the lumber workers. She and Howard had four children together. In 1960, they moved to Craig, where Howard started logging, eventually running his own lumber mill on Peroulis land east of town. In the mid-‘60s, they purchased a home on Ranney Street, where she resided until her death.

Eleanor was a devoted caretaker. She worked at Valley View Manor and was a private home nurse to many Craig families, such as the Seelys, Durhams and Peroulis. She went on to clean the local library and other Craig professional offices well into her 80s. She attended the Craig Church of Christ, where she was baptized. Quilting and needlework, such as crewel, were Eleanor’s dear hobbies. Her work not only adorned her own house, but the homes of many who cherished her hand stitching.

Eleanor was a cheerful, gentle, eclectic woman. It wasn’t uncommon for one of the family, checking in on Eleanor in her later years, to find her alone at home, singing happily to herself as she went about her day. She enjoyed collecting rocks from her trips and outings — some she painted and gave away to grandchildren. She loved children and was thrilled, almost giddy, during visits from her various grand babies,. who streaked through her house, evading capture between diaper changes. Like so many from her generation, she endured hardships that seem out of place today, and she did so in her even-keeled style, never spiteful or vindictive.